664. English Truffles.—Put twelve of them to soak for four hours in lukewarm water; then with a hard hair-brush remove all the earth from them; then wash again, put them into a stewpan, with a few slices of bacon, two onions, half a head of celery, half a carrot, a clove of garlic, two bay-leaves, a sprig of thyme, four of parsley, a teaspoonful of salt, one of sugar, a half of pepper, two glasses of sherry, and a pint of broth; let them simmer for half an hour or more, but till tender; place them in the oven for twenty minutes longer, remove the truffles and place them on a dish; have a little mashed potatoes, and make a border, and place the truffles on in pyramid to prevent them moving, strain the gravy they were in, skim off the fat, reduce it to about a gill, put in a teaspoonful of arrow-root in a cup, with a spoonful of water, mix it, and put to the gravy, boil a few minutes, pour over, and serve.
I peeled some of them, cooked the same way, they eat better; but they did not look so well.
665. Sauté of the same.—After having washed them, I peel them and cut into thin slices, and put about one pound of them into a stewpan; I then add a quarter of a pound of butter, a teaspoonful of salt, half one of sugar, a quarter ditto of nutmeg, warm over the fire, add a gill of broth, a little flour, mixed with a little butter, stir in, boil, and serve on toast;—or proceed as above, adding a gill of demi-glaze. They can be served with any entrées when properly done, and in all cases can be used instead of mushrooms.
666. To cook Sourcrout.—Put a quart of sourcrout, with a fat piece of bacon or pork, into an earthen pan, with sufficient water to cover it, stew for four or five hours, and serve with pork or fried sausages; it is better the second day. It may be procured in any good oil-shop in the winter.
667. Sourcrout, Bavarian way.—Well wash one quart of sourcrout, and put it into an earthen pan with a quarter of a bottle of Rhenish wine or any other light wine, and stew it for three hours; then add some veal gravy, well seasoned, and stew for three hours longer, and serve with sausages, or when you add the veal stock, put in a duck or a goose, and serve with it.